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George R. Roberts

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George Rosenberg Roberts[1]
Born1943 (age 80–81)
Houston, Texas, US
Alma mater
Occupation(s)Co-founder, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
Spouses
  • Leanne Bovet
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1968; died 2003)​
  • Linnea Conrad
    ​
    (m. 2010)​
Children3

George Rosenberg Roberts (born 1943) is an American financier. He is one of the three original partners of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), which he co-founded alongside Jerome Kohlberg and first cousin Henry Kravis in 1976.

Early life

George Roberts was born into a Jewish[2] family in Houston, Texas. He graduated from Culver Military Academy in 1962 and received the institution's "Man of the Year" Award in 1998. He attended Claremont McKenna College, graduating in 1966, and the University of California's Hastings College of the Law, graduating in 1969.[3]

Career

Roberts worked for Bear Stearns in the late 1960s and early 1970s becoming a partner at the age of 29.[2] While at Bear Stearns, Roberts, alongside Kohlberg and Kravis, began a series of what they described as "bootstrap" investments. Their acquisition of Orkin Exterminating Company in 1964 is among the first significant leveraged buyout transactions. In the following years the three Bear Stearns bankers would complete a series of buyouts including Stern Metals (1965), Incom (a division of Rockwood International, 1971), Cobblers Industries (1971), and Boren Clay (1973) as well as Thompson Wire, Eagle Motors and Barrows through their investment in Stern Metals. Although they had a number of highly successful investments, the $27 million investment in Cobblers ended in bankruptcy.[4]

By 1976, tensions had built up between Bear Stearns and the trio of Kohlberg, Kravis and Roberts leading to their departure and the formation of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in that year. Most notably, Bear Stearns executive Cy Lewis had rejected repeated proposals to form a dedicated investment fund within Bear Stearns and Lewis took exception to the amount of time spent on outside activities.[5] Early investors in KKR included Henry Hillman[6] By 1978, with the revision of the ERISA regulations, the nascent KKR was successful in raising the first institutional fund with investor commitments.[7]

He has an estimated net worth of $5.9 billion as of 2018.[8]

Personal life

In 1968, he married Leanne Bovet, daughter of Eric B. Bovet and Dorothy Champion of San Mateo, California.[9][10] Eric Bovet was the son of Swiss immigrant Louis Bovet and Grace Borel; Grace Borel was the daughter of Swiss immigrant Antoine Borel, a prominent banker in San Francisco and San Mateo.[11][12] Leanne Bovet died in 2003.[13]

On May 22, 2010, he married Goldman Sachs partner Linnea Conrad.[14]

Philanthropic and public positions

Roberts is the founder and chairman of the boards of directors of non-profit organizations such as the Roberts Enterprise Development Fund (REDF), which focuses on job creation for people facing significant barriers to work.[15] He also serves as a trustee of Claremont McKenna College and Culver Military Academy, and is a board member of the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Ballet and the Fine Arts Museum.[16]

In 2012, he donated $50 million to Claremont McKenna College.[17] He again donated $140 million to CMC in 2022.[18]

Awards and honors

References

  1. ^ "KKR Company Profile & Executives - KKR & Co. Inc. - Wall Street Journal".
  2. ^ a b "The world's 50 Richest Jews: 41-50". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2022-05-07.
  3. ^ "Roberts winning 'Man of the Year' award". Archived from the original on May 9, 2006. Retrieved July 18, 2006.
  4. ^ "Answers.com profile". Answers. Retrieved September 18, 2014.[unreliable source?]
  5. ^ In 1976, Kravis was forced to serve as interim CEO of a failing direct mail company Advo.
  6. ^ "Refers to Henry Hillman and the Hillman Company". Answers. Retrieved 2022-05-07.
  7. ^ Vasvari, Florin; Talmor, Eli (2011-06-24). International Private Equity. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-119-97388-1.
  8. ^ "George Roberts". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
  9. ^ "Obituaries - July/August 2010". Stanford Magazine. July 2010. Retrieved 2022-05-07.
  10. ^ "Bay Area Gleamings". Berkeley Daily Gazette. July 2, 1941. Retrieved 2022-05-07 – via Google News Archive Search.
  11. ^ "The Borel Traditions Live On". Borel Private Bank & Trust Company. Archived from the original on February 13, 2012.
  12. ^ "Grace Bovet dies at 82". San Mateo Times. Dec 29, 1958. p. 40. Retrieved 2022-05-07 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  13. ^ "Paid Notice: Deaths ROBERTS, LEANNE BOVET". The New York Times. 2003-05-11. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-05-07.
  14. ^ Lattman, Peter (21 October 2010). "Goldman's Proprietary Trading Desk to Join K.K.R." nytimes.com. Retrieved 2022-05-07.
  15. ^ "REDF - An investment that works". REDF. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  16. ^ "George R Roberts, KKR & Co LP: Profile and Biography". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2022-05-07.
  17. ^ Dolan, Kerry A. "Billionaire KKR Co-Founder George Roberts Gives $50 Million To Claremont McKenna College". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-05-07.
  18. ^ Silsby, Gilien (April 22, 2022). "CMC announces the Roberts Campus". Claremont McKenna College (Press release). Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  19. ^ "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
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